Written ~ 07-01-2024
Read Acts Chapter Twenty One
Acts 21
Paul was getting ready to set sail for Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had already told him that jail and suffering lie ahead, he wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem, but he was determined to go. In Acts 20:22-24 it says, 22“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”
This is a man with a mission placed on his life. How many of us can say that we would be willing to suffer hardship and imprisonment for the Lord? Nothing was going to stop Paul from getting the message of Salvation out to as many people as possible. There were still many unknowns as he stepped onto that ship sailing to Jerusalem.
Acts 21:1-3…
1 “After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. 2 There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia. 3 We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.”
In Acts chapter twenty, Paul had a meeting with the elders from the church at Ephesus, their friendship was deep and loving. Sending Paul off to what could be to his death, was heartbreaking to those saying good-bye to him. Acts 20:37-38… 37“They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.”
Have you ever said good-bye to someone not knowing when or if you would see them again? Tears were flowing down the cheeks of these men as they watched the ship pull away from the dock. They watched as their dear friend sailed away.
“After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed…” Let’s remind ourselves of who the “we” is speaking of in this first verse. The companions of Paul were listed in Acts 20:4… “…Sopater (from Berea), Aristarchus and Secundus (both from Thessalonica), Gaius (from Derbe), Timothy (from Lystra), Tychicus and Trophimus (both from Asia) and possibly others who are not listed here… and even though his name is not listed, Luke accompanied Paul as well…” All these men were believers from the different areas that Paul had preached the Good News. These were men who had studied under Paul’s teaching, so it seems each church Paul ministered to was represented by the men who accompanied him on this trip.
Why do you think it is important that each shipping port along Paul’s journey was recorded in the Book of Acts? Could it be that it gives us, the reader from the 21st century, a bit of a history lesson? We can look back at ancient maps and see exactly where Paul traveled during each of his missionary journeys. Maybe it helps give us clarity to realize that, “yes,” these were real people traveling in ships to ports that were not only well-known then but also well-known now. One thing I found interesting to note… these ships were not pleasure cruises, instead these men chose to travel aboard cargo ships, there was nothing luxury about how they traveled. The quickest way to Jerusalem was the relatively straight route that a cargo ship would take.
Acts 21:4-6…
4“We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. 5When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed, 6and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
When the ship docked at the harbor of Tyre the men unloaded, went ashore to find local believers. They had a week of fellowship with believers there and some relaxation time before leaving again. But while there, the believers they stayed with had a specific message from the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go to Jerusalem. It would have been of great concern for these believers that Paul not go to Jerusalem to possibly be met with death. But as we will continue to see, Paul is insistent to get to Jerusalem. The good-byes at the shore a week later would have been heartfelt and tearful, but as they knelt there as a group and prayed, it was evident they would not dissuade Paul from his decision to continue his journey.
After a couple of stops the group made their way to Caesarea, there they stayed with Philip and his family. We met Philip back in Acts chapter six, he was one of the men chosen (along with Stephen, who was later martyred), to help with the daily food distribution. (Acts 6:1-7)
Acts 21:8-14…
8“The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. 9He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
10Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’” 12When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
13But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” 14When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Let’s pause for a moment and call attention to Philip’s four unmarried daughters and a man named Agabus (we met him in Acts 11:28), all of which are described as having the gift of prophecy. For clarification, I researched an understandable definition of the gift of prophecy…
- The gift of prophecy is a special ability to speak forth the message of God. A prophet is basically a spokesman for God. He or she delivers the Word of God to people by means of direct revelation. Prophetic utterances can deal with certain individuals, the church, or a larger context. It does not always refer to the future. The word is used far more to proclaim the Word of God rather than to predict the future.
- Prophecy is most often mentioned among the spiritual gifts. It is also at the top of the list of spiritual gifts. It was highly regarded by the believers. (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:28-29, 13:2 and 8, 14:1, 6 and 39; Ephesians 2:20, 4:11; Acts 2:16-17) The gift of prophecy must be distinguished from the gift of teaching.
- This gift was active from the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:1. Simon Peter spoke the prophetic word on that very day. We will find that both men and women had the gift of prophecy. We will also find that the prophets were not always the leaders in the church. Plus, if necessary, the New Testament prophet could foretell the future. However, the main reason for the gift was the instruction and encouragement of the church.
The gift of prophecy is among one of the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit, the purpose is for the believer to speak wisdom and knowledge pertaining to the Word of God. It says in… 1 Corinthians 14:1 and 39… “Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives – especially the ability to prophecy… So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophecy…”
So… in our chapter today, Paul is getting these words of wisdom from several prophecies all of which tell of his appending doom in Jerusalem. Why did it seem Paul was ignoring each of these prophetic messages? Because of what he says in verse 21:13, “…I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul’s message was clear, he was doing what God had laid on his heart. I believe the Holy Spirit was preparing Paul through each prophecy given to him, so he would be ready for whatever was to happen in Jerusalem.
The only response his companions and the other believers could give in at this point was… “When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” (Acts 21:14) Their trust and faith in the Lord is what gave each of them the courage to send Paul off on his continued journey to Jerusalem.
When Paul finally did reach Jerusalem he was greeted warmly by the believers there, he was able to tell them all about the wonderful things the Lord had done through his ministry to the Gentiles. But almost immediately the warning was given that the Jewish leaders in the area were under the impression that Paul was preaching things contrary to the law of Moses and they were “out to get him.”
A plan was made for Paul to accompany several men to the Temple the next day to be a part of a purification ceremony and to end a vow these men had completed. This was an attempt to show the Jewish leaders that Paul did, in fact, follow the laws of Moses and that he did not live or preach in contradiction to that law. But their plan did not work as they had hoped…
Acts 21:26-28…
26So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
27The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, 28yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.”
So it began…
With the yelling out of just a few Jewish men from the province of Asia, “…the whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed…” (Acts 21:30a)
Acts 21:30b-36…
30b “Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him. 31As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.
33Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done. 34Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress. 35As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him. 36And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”
Isn’t it something… doesn’t this whole scene sound a little familiar to you? What about when Jesus was arrested and dragged before the high priest and then to Pilate? The confusion, the yelling, the unrelenting hatred, the spewing out “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” Paul was facing the same type of uproar from those who did not understand his mission… there he was in the midst of such incredible abhorrence.
Even the Roman commander that had ahold of Paul was confused, he had no idea who Paul was and mistook him for a rebellious Egyptian!
Then we see a calm moment, Paul addresses the crowd in their native Hebrew tongue…
Acts 21:37-40…
37As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?”
“Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised. 38“Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”
39“No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.” 40The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic (Hebrew).
We won’t find out until the next chapter what Paul says to the crowd… but I am quite sure what Paul has to say will be important to those listening and for us as well…
What should you and I learn from this chapter? This is Paul’s journey, so how do we apply this to our own lives? Over and over again Paul is being confronted by prophecy messages that warn him of what could happen to him if he continued in his journey. What might look like complete ignorance on Paul’s part, shouldn’t be taken as that. If you or I have been given a very specific mission from the Lord and we have taken that word from the Lord to heart, we will want to do everything possible to make it happen. So what happens when we receive warnings or learn that hardships and suffering are inevitable as you seek to fulfill the mission God has given us? Do we just give up because of the concern of trials during the course of doing God’s Will? The messages Paul was receiving from the Holy Spirit from each of those prophesying over him, were not to dissuade him, but instead they were to give him the courage needed to face every hardship head on. Don’t let the confusion of the enemy twist a warning from the Holy Spirit into something that should be feared and cause you to change the path God has purposed for you. As we will see in later Books of the New Testament, Paul’s time in prison gave us his letters to all the churches he ministered to while he traveled! It might be difficult for us to understand why we must face challenges when doing the Will of God, but by staying on course no matter what is thrown our way, shows those around us that it is the Lord we serve, it is the Lord we look to for strength, it is the Lord who is glorified.
When the people gathered around Paul in verses 21:8-14 and said, “The Lord’s will be done…” when Paul could not be persuaded to end his pursuit of going to Jerusalem, even in their sorrow they had to give in to the wishes of Paul. It had to be quite apparent that Paul was set in his goal to reach Jerusalem and that he would go through whatever suffering was waiting for him there.
Let’s learn from Paul. His example of steadfastness and endurance is something each of us should want to obtain. With the Holy Spirit’s guidance we can have the same drive to do the Will of God as Paul did… in everything we do or say… Always…
~AMEN~